Key factors limiting organic cherry growing in Baltic states are cold stress in the winter, fruit cracking due to summer rain and fruit damage caused by cherry fruit flies (Rhagoletis cerasi).
Solution
This practice abstract recommends suitable cherry varieties best in open fields and protected cultivation. A list of suitable organic cherries varieties is also provided.
Description
The use of winter hard, cracking-resistant, medium and low-vigour cultivars, suitable for complex biocontrol of cherry fruit flies and other pests and diseases, can increase qualitative organic cherry yield in the Baltic region.
Practical recommendation
• Check information about local cultivars tested at research stations and on established orchards. Ask your-self the following questions:
o Do I want to produce cherries with or without covers? Choose low vigour (vigour reducing root-stocks) and cultivars with high market fruit value for covered orchards; for open field cultivation, cracking tolerant and early ripening cultivars are best suited.
o Do I want to offer cherries to retailers or to direct sales? Choose cultivars with dark red and firm fruit to sell to retailers; have a wider assortment with different fruit colours and firmness for direct mar-keting.
• Keep the trunk healthy - trunk liming is a good preventive means against winter damage.
• Pruning
o Prune trees only in dry, sunny weather.
o Perform spring pruning to advance the branching. Recommended for combinations of low-vigour growing cultivars and vigour-reducing rootstocks
o Perform summer pruning to reduce the vigour.
• Cut out immediately, without waiting for spring or summer pruning, unhealthy, wilting, withering or gum-ming branches.
• List of cultivars suited for sweet cherry organic production:
o Early to medium early ripening and resistant to cracking, suitable for open fields:
Agila (better in warmer places) (Picture 1), Radica (Picture 2), Arthur.
o Weak to medium vigour, firm fruit, suitable for growing under the covers:
Artis, Aleksandrs (Picture 3), Tyutchevka (Picture 4).
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